Alumni activities

Dear graduate of our university!

You are warmly welcome to take part in the alumni activities of our university!  We would like to welcome all former students and employees of the University of Lapland to become part of our alumni network. We want to stay in touch with you after your graduation and support you further in your academic career.

Join our alumni network

You can also join our alumni network when submitting your electronic degree certificate application in Peppi. If you give your consent for your information to be added to the alumni register when submitting the application, your alumni details will be forwarded accordingly. The following information will be transferred from Peppi to the alumni register: name, address, completed degree, email address and year of graduation. This information is used for sending alumni newsletters. The newsletters are sent via email.

In the newsletters for alumni, we provide news about the University of Lapland as well as information on events, courses and webinars that are aimed at our alumni. We also share ways to get involved in the development of the university and offer opportunities to network with other alumni and current students.

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Services for alumni

Open University

Education and Development Services

Recruit from our university

As an employer, you can offer our students and recent graduates’ various types of jobs, summer jobs and traineeships. You can easily submit a job posting using Jobteaser’s application form. The service is intended for employers’ own job advertisements that are suitable for our university students and those who have completed a university degree.

Doctoral studies

Are you interested in pursuing a doctoral degree? Get in touch with a professor representing the field closest to your planned research topic to discuss your research proposal, your research plan and the other studies to be included in your doctoral degree. To be able to apply for the study right in a doctoral programme, you are required to prepare a research plan in which you describe your proposed research, as well as to create a personal study plan.

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The Alumni of the Year 2025

The Alumni of the Year has promoted the working life knowledge of those studying at the University of Lapland through their activities and made the university a well-known partner. In choosing the Alumni of the Year, the emphasis is on cooperation with the University of Lapland, national or international influence, acting as a positive example in working life and as a contact person.

The steering group of the University of Lapland’s Alumni Activities selected Timo Saranpää as the 2025 Alumni of the Year. LL.D, D.Soc.Sc. Timo Sarapää has promoted the business knowledge of students at University of Lapland and contributed to the status of the university as a partner of collaboration. Saranpää earned his doctorate at the University of Lapland, after which he has made a significant career in the Finnish judicial system. Saranpää is currently Justice of the Vaasa Court of Appeal (2017–), but works as a fixed-term district judge in the District Court of Ostrobothnia. He has previously worked at the University of Lapland and, after embarking on a court career, collaborated with the Faculty of Law by working as a teacher and in expert positions. Saranpää is a competent researcher in procedural law and holds the corresponding title of docent at the University of Lapland.

Alumni of the Year 2015 – 2025

2015: Marianne Wagner-Prenner
2016: Irja-Kaisa Lakkala 
2017: Johanna Ikäheimo 
2018: Linus Schaaf 
2019: Eeva-Liisa Rasmus-Moilanen 
2020: Eija Warma-Lehtinen 
2021: Sanna Kyyrä 
2022: Jussi-Pekka ”JP” Ahonen
2023: Maarit Simoska 
2024: Anniina Hakkarainen 
2025: Timo Saranpää

Career monitoring for master’s and doctoral degrees

You will receive an invitation from us to participate in the career and labour market monitoring survey once five years have passed since your graduation. Through the survey, we want to hear what kind of jobs you have held since your graduation, how you have experienced the importance of university education, and whether you have been satisfied with your degree from the perspective of your own career.

By answering the survey, you help our current and future students. Information about graduates’ career paths is valuable to the students when they think about their studies and employment opportunities.

The education administration’s reporting portal Vipunen provides statistics on the career monitoring  results.

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